My Backyard Garden

So, I’m a city girl through and through. When I haven’t lived in the midst of the hustle and bustle of some busy urban heat island, I have been a resident of the ever-popular suburban scene. There’s not much about the country that has ever appealed to me as a matter of fact. I am rather fond of pizza delivery, wireless Internet, and my three minute commute to work. In the last couple of years I have even taken my role as an environmentally conscious liberal seriously enough to ride my $400 Trek bicycle to the store (Nalgene bottle strapped to the frame, of course) to my buy my organic groceries imported from the four corners of the world. I bought my organic papayas in January, my organic broccoli in February, my organic spaghetti squash in March, my organic imported rice anytime I want it, and my Belgian beer at my favorite restaurant on Fridays. Oh, and did I mention that a practice yoga at least twice a week? Sound familiar?

My involvement in the start up of BG Green this last year made me realize that I was not as truly in touch with what it means to support local sustainability as I thought I was. I had no idea when the first or last frost tends to occur in this area. I was not even quite sure what vegetables are in season in May as opposed to September in the southern region of Kentucky. And, I was not really certain what fruits and vegetables would even thrive in my backyard; my guess, however, was it is not papayas! Armed with only my tenacious ambition and lack of knowledge, I decided to expand my little annual herb garden to include a healthy bounty of assorted produce this summer. So, I was off to my local Wal-Mart to buy plants to set in my little garden. After a recent conversation with our Mayor, who started her plants from seeds this year, I realized that probably buying the half-grown plants from Wal-Mart was yet another blunder in my grand attempt to be a true activist. Alas, there is always next year!

My little backyard garden is doing well. I have picked green beans everyday for a week, shared my jalapenos with friends, and fried some green tomatoes. There is a certain satisfaction is growing your food. It is a bit time consuming but I think it’s worth the reruns of Grey Anatomy and 24 I skipped to hoe weeds and and prune my carrots.

Molly Kerby, June 2007